Reviewed by Rita
15 year old Samantha “Sam” Mather is cursed. Her
father is in a coma and her stepmother tells her that mounting medical bills
make it necessary to sell their New York home and move into her deceased
grandmother’s house in Salem, Massachusetts. This is when things really get
bad. Sam is starting a new school in a new city and everyone hates her as soon
as they hear the name Mather.
Sam is descended from Cotton Mather who was
instrumental in starting the Salem witch trials and that doesn’t sit well with
the Descendants whose ancestors were hanged during the trails. As soon as she
gets to town, bad things start happening to those around her. In an effort to make a good impression she
takes pastries to her homeroom class, but everyone that eats them gets sick --
except for Sam. When she attends a party with kids from school, everyone gets a
terrible rash -- except for Sam. It doesn’t take long for suspicion to fall upon
her.
Sam soon finds out that this curse has affected
Salem for 300 years, but only when a descendant from each family involved in
the witch trials is present in town. Her arrival completes the requirement
triggering the curse and when people start to die, Sam becomes determined to
find a way to stop the curse before it takes her father. In order to stop the
curse she must first find the source and that will require her to work with the
Descendants, the very girls who want to get rid of her.
I thoroughly enjoyed this young adult novel. The characters
were interesting and the story moved at a good pace. Author Adriana Mather is a
twelfth generation descendant of Cotton Mather and spent time in Salem
researching her family history for this novel. The book touches on just enough
facts regarding the Salem witch trials to develop the story without bogging it
down with a history lesson. However, it has compelled to me to further research
the witch trials on my own as it has been a LONG time since my last history
class.
I believe How to Hang a Witch will appeal to
a much wider audience than just young adults. It has mystery, action,
conflicted love, and a touch of the supernatural. I found it engrossing and entertaining with a
surprise ending that has me hoping for future books about young Sam Mather.
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